Electric suspension technology harvests energy from bumps.

Audi developing pothole-powered car

Electric suspension technology harvests energy from bumps.

Audi developing pothole-powered car

11 Aug 2016David McCowen

The self-driving car of the future could harvest energy from bumps in the road while offering a more comfortable ride than existing models.

Audi has offered insight into an innovative suspension system that could change the way we approach cars. Most cars currently use a coiled metal spring in tandem with fluid-filled shock absorbers that control a vehicle's body movement over bumps and through bends.

The arrangement usually takes up a reasonable amount of space, and the way the shock absorbers behave is governed by the size of valves that restrict the movement of fluid within each damper. More advanced models offer variable-valve or magnetically controlled shocks, a solution increasingly popular in prestige and performance cars.

But Audi wants to turn that on its head with a new electromechanical rotary damper that uses electric motors in place of springs and shocks.

2016 Audi A4 Photo: Supplied

The system, dubbed eROT (short for electromechanical rotary damper), uses suspension arms and a series of gears as leverage on an electric motor that serves as spring and damper, finely controlling wheel movement.

Its advantages are threefold.

Firstly, the system is more compact than existing suspension setups, which should give designers more room for boot storage, cabin space or close-hugging bodywork.

Secondly, rather than tuning car behaviour by physically pushing oil through a shock absorber, the system allows more flexibility by allowing engineers to tune suspension behaviour by adjusting software that controls the electric motor's behaviour.